OUR GOVERNANCE
The executive committee is made of nominated financial members of APLI. This group may include members who are health professionals or have skills that are relevant to APLI.
The executive committee meets up once every two months throughout the year virtually, although additional executive meetings may be held if deemed necessary with specific agendas.
Executive committee members are typically nominated at the Annual General Meeting. Members of APLI interested in becoming executive committee members should express their interest to the chairperson and provide the members with a short biography to introduce themselves and their qualifications before the AGM. The term for being an executive member is for one year.
Meet our Executive Group
John Haberecht, Chairperson
John Haberecht has a background as a registered nurse and has worked in palliative care for over 30 years. He has worked in acute and community palliative care services, and was for many years Director of Learning and Development at Queensland Health’s Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education. He is currently Interim Chief Executive Officer for Palliative Care Queensland. John has a passion for equity of access to palliative care, especially for First Nations peoples, adequate pain and symptom management, and educating health care professionals about palliative care. He has had the privilege of being a Project Hamrahi mentor in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, and is honoured to take on the role of President of APLI.
Chris Waples, Treasurer
Chris Waples has been the Treasurer of APLI since 2015. He is a practicing Chartered Accountant and business adviser. He lives and works in Adelaide. Chris is Managing Director of Bartons Chartered Accountants & Wealth Advisors. He advises an extensive client base of medical professionals, and in that capacity supports a wide range of his clients’ philanthropic causes. It was in this context he was introduced to APLI. Chris has been impressed by the passion of the palliative care professionals involved with APLI, and seeks to support the organization’s commercial and financial requirements through his and his firm’s resources.
A/Prof Marianne Phillips
AProf/Dr Marianne Phillips is a Paediatric & Adolescent Oncologist and Palliative Care Physician and joined the APLI Executive in 2019. Currently working at Perth Children’s Hospital, she advocates for the inclusion of palliative care for all children. She is a Board member of the International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) and member of Palliative Care in Humanitarian Aid Situations & Emergencies Network (PalChase) ensuring advocacy, awareness, education and training to help meet the palliative and end of life needs of children affected by life-limiting illness, humanitarian disasters and mass casualty incidents globally. Marianne is an executive member of Paediatric Palliative Care Australia & New Zealand (PaPCANZ) and a member of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians End-of-Life working group. She lectures at both Notre Dame University and The University of Western Australia and conducts international collaborative research in the field of paediatric palliative care symptom management including carer needs. She has previously spent time volunteering and teaching in Africa; Romania and Indonesia and is currently a Paediatric Palliative Care Advisor for Medecins Sans Frontiers.
Joan Ryan OAM
Joan is a Palliative Care Nurse Consultant at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Sydney.
She has vast clinical experience across multiple settings and is a longstanding and proud member of Australasian Palliative Care Link International. Joan’s interest in Palliative Care education in poorly resourced nations originated when she was invited to conduct nursing workshops in the Republic of Nauru, 2002.
At that time Nauru was supporting a large refugee population sparking a strong interest around the interface between nursing and the humanitarian context. As a Psychology/ Anthropology graduate Joan’s interest blossomed globally providing education in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste and more recently as a member of a small Project Hamrahi team visiting Cachar Cancer and Research Hospital, Assam, India. Joan has presented at the Asian Pacific Conferences, Montreal Palliative Care Congress, and also back home in Australia, raising awareness of APLI mentorship program and focusing on the power of storytelling and human connectedness. In 2019 Joan was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in recognition for her contribution to Palliative Care Nursing.
Malvika Agarwal
Malvika Agarwal has joined APLI group in Oct 2022. She has 15 years of Data and technology experience across various industries mainly Banking and Finance, Information Technology and Communications. She holds a master’s in business administration from Melbourne Business School. As part of APLI corporate strategy review performed by MBS, Malvika built a bond with APLI and decided to join the organization. She is passionate about helping organizations and people achieve their goals. She will stand as your guide, supporter, mentor, and coach when it is needed while bringing a perspective outside of palliative care to APLI.
Shyla Mills
Shyla Mills is the CEO at Palliative Care South Australia (PCSA) a leading charity and peak body for Palliative Care in South Australia and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Flinders University and La Trobe University. She is a Registered Nurse, holds a Master of Public Health and Palliative Care and has a special interest in palliative care strategy and policy, public health palliative care as well as compassion, death and grief literacy.
BECOME A MEMBER
Membership of APLI is open to health professionals working in or with an interest in palliative care and to friends and supporters of palliative care. Members may wish to support the development of palliative care in the Asia Pacific through fund raising, awareness raising and voluntary activities to support the work of APLI.